


the morning after

by chidorinnn



Category: Shin Megami Tensei Series, 真女神転生IV | Shin Megami Tensei IV
Genre: Angst, FWP, Fluff without Plot, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-25
Updated: 2015-06-25
Packaged: 2018-04-06 02:23:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4204323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chidorinnn/pseuds/chidorinnn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You live to see another day while your hometown does not -- Walter refuses to let you waste a single moment.<br/>Post-Kiccigiorgi Forest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the morning after

“Hoy, wake up. It’s morning.”

There’s nothing new about Walter’s greeting – he’s always come to your room in the morning, woken you up with a brisk knock on your door. Why should today be any different?

And yet, you can’t move. You hadn’t been too injured in your trek through Kiccigiorgi Forest the previous day, and yet your body feels heavy, and you can’t summon the energy to even sit up, let alone get out of bed.

The door opens, and Walter steps in, already dressed in his Samurai uniform. “Come now,” he says, grinning like nothing has gone wrong. “Today’s a new day! Commander Hope requested that we meet him in Aquila Plaza.”

He doesn’t wait for you to react to his words – instead, he props you up with one arm around your shoulders. You crumple into him, and his grip tightens, as if he’s the only thing left that’s holding you together.

(The simple shift you’re wearing is Issachar’s, comically large and smelling vaguely of smoke – you don’t want to think of when or how it somehow got mixed up with your things.)

“Up we go.” He throws the blanket off from where it’s bunched around your thighs, and he grabs your hands to pull you out of bed. “Can’t be late for Commander Hope, can we?”

He throws pieces of your Samurai uniform to you and has the decency to turn away when you change. 

(Your mother had given you errands to complete when she’d first sent you to Mikado Castle, as if she’d expected you to return to Kiccigiorgi, as if she hadn’t expected you to become a Samurai, and how could she have _known_?)

“Done?” Walter turns as you pull on the jacket, and then he reaches for the wooden comb sitting on your dresser. Instead of asking you to move, he makes his way behind you and runs the comb through your hair, even taking care to work around the tangles as painlessly as possible.

(Issachar was never gentle, you remember – after all, Samurai were tough warriors who didn’t cry when people brushed their hair.)

“There.” He sets the comb back down on your dresser, grinning like nothing has gone wrong. “If we don’t leave soon, we’ll be late.”

You can’t bring yourself to follow him, but you can’t bring yourself to cry either. Instead of pain, all that’s there is emptiness, something dull and numb and yet overbearing and suffocating at the same time. 

Walter takes one of your hands and pulls you to your feet, and doesn’t let go for the entire walk to Aquila Plaza.


End file.
